1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tire deflating devices, and more particularly, to a band having strips of spikes and corresponding elongated apertures that allow the band to be rolled up.
2. Related Art
Law enforcement personnel, as well as other tactical security personnel. are often called to either halt a fleeing vehicle, or to disable a vehicle that has trespassed into a secure area. It is desirable in these circumstances to slow the vehicle by partially, or completely. disabling the vehicle. One popular method of disabling a vehicle is by deflating its tires. Those skilled in the art appreciate that firing weapons at a fleeing vehicle""s tires is inefficient, often ineffective and presents an unacceptable risk of injury to law enforcement/security personnel or bystanders. Accordingly, a number of devices have been developed to serve as partial or complete barricades or that can be deployed across a roadways for the purpose of puncturing a vehicle""s pneumatic tires as the vehicle passes over the device.
In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,832, issued to Kilgrow, et al., on Jul. 7, 1998, discloses a compact tire deflator having pivotally connected opposing panels and one or more hollow spikes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,293, issued to Groen et al., on Oct. 13, 1998, discloses a vehicle tire deflation device comprising a base and a plurality of hollow tire deflating quills secured to the base. The base is configured so as to provide a tire penetrating orientation and a non-tire penetrating orientation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,849, issued to Pacholok et al., on Nov. 24, 1998, discloses a mechanical tire deflating device that deploys a folded deflating spike under a vehicle desired to be stopped. The spikes are extended when the mechanical device is under the vehicle to be stopped. U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,408, issued to Abukhader, on Mar. 18, 1997, discloses a vehicle disabling device that is propelled by a chase vehicle and deploys beneath a vehicle to be stopped. When deployed, the device extends a plurality of spikes that destroy and deflate the fleeing vehicle""s tires. U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,109, issued to Lowndes, on Jul. 16, 1996, discloses a road vehicle halting device comprising a support member, a plurality of support elements and means for mounting the support elements on the support member in which each of the supporting elements supports a generally upwardly extending spike. The Lowndes device is configured in a xe2x80x9clazy tongxe2x80x9d configuration and teaches that the spikes are pulled from the spike cups as the vehicle rolls over the device.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,756, issued to Kilgrow et al., on Feb. 26, 1991, discloses a vehicle tire deflator having a pivoting tong configuration which utilizes a series of rocker arms and actuators to cant the spikes toward the tire upon impact. Kilgrow et al. teach that the spike is pulled from the socket as the tire rolls over the device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,950, issued to Kilgrow et al., on Oct. 19, 1993, (and reissue U.S. Pat. No. Re. 35,373 issued on Nov. 5, 1996) discloses an improvement over the device disclosed in Kilgrow et al. ""756. U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,714, issued to Hutchison, on May 10, 1983, discloses a vehicle disabling means in the form of a plurality of spike like devices adapted to project perpendicular to a road surface to puncture one or more of a vehicle""s tires. U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,059, issued to Groblebe, on Mar. 28, 1972, discloses a tire puncturing device to impede movement of a vehicle which utilizes a plurality of hollow, sharpened nail-like members releasably secured in spaced relation along the length and width of an elongated strip spread across the width of a roadway. U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,397, issued to Soleau, on Jan. 9, 1996, discloses a tire deflator which utilizes a spike and its associate support block being supported by a support mechanism adapted such that the spike and support block separate from the support mechanism as the tire rolls over the support mechanism.
While it is presumed that the aforementioned devices will effectively deflate the tires of a fleeing vehicle, there are several disadvantages to using these devices. For example, most tire deflation devices currently in use are bulky in dimensional size and may comprise numerous moving parts, whereby becoming inherently cumbersome in view of portability, storage, operation, and maintenance. In particular, prior art tire deflation devices commonly consist of one or more collapsible frames having numerous structural features engageably disposed in relation therewith and are usually constructed in such a manner so as to provide an extendible means tor covering the width of a lane of traffic or an entire roadway by using a single device or, in the alternative, by disposing a plurality of extendable frames in a connectable relationship across a roadway.
Consistent with the foregoing, the operational deployment of prior art tire deflation devices is usually awkward in regards to handling and often difficult to quickly or surreptitiously move as a result of their inherently large size and considerable weight. Consequently, law enforcement officers without a car will generally not have ready access to prior art tire deflation devices. Even those officers with a motorized vehicle having sufficient space for storing a prior art tire deflation device will typically need to have their vehicle near the desired deployment area in order to deploy the deflation device. In short, because prior art tire deflation devices generally require a considerable amount of surface area for storage, many law enforcement officers may not have ready access to these deflation devices when a situation arises for restricting the passage or movement of a vehicle.
Another significant disadvantage of prior art tire deflation devices is the intrinsic risk of sustaining serious personal injuries in association with contacting the sharp protruding ends of one or more spikes if these devices are not handled carefully. To alleviate the inherent risk of injuries, custom-built housing assemblies were developed by those skilled in the art to provide a means for protecting a user from exposed spike tips. However. such protective measures typically consume additional storage space and are customarily more costly in relation to manufacturing costs.
Consistent with the foregoing, while the prior art tire deflation devices disclosed above appear generally suitable for their intended purposes, these tire deflation devices nevertheless leave much to be desired from the standpoint of transportability, simplicity of construction, safety in operation, and required maintenance. As will be appreciated in the art, economic considerations are significant when dealing with the highly competitive law enforcement industry, since relatively complicated devices are frequently found to be commercially impractical. Accordingly, even a slight savings in the cost may substantially enhance the commercial appeal of a particular component or assembly when considering issues of mass production.
The present invention solves the problems encountered with complex, mechanically deployed tire deflating devices by providing a virtually self-deploying device that is activated by simply releasing the energy stored in a steel spring band. The present invention further solves the problems encountered with previously introduced xe2x80x9csimplexe2x80x9d devices by providing a tire deflating device that can be easily stored and transported due to the presence of elongated apertures that correspond to the strips of spikes thereby allowing the device to be rolled up while retaining the spikes.
An aspect of the invention is a portable tire deflating device, including a band having a first end, a second end, a length, a top surface, a bottom surface and one or more elongated apertures positioned along the length of the band; one or more spikes; and one or more strips of spikes positioned along the length of the band such that when the first end of the band is rolled toward the second end, each of the one or more strips of spikes aligns with one of the elongated apertures such that the spikes protrude through the apertures.
A feature of the invention is a spring steel band that has sufficient potential energy when rolled into the stored position, that upon release of the storing and securing means, the spring steel un-rolls and practically deploys itself across a roadway or surface to be blocked.
Another feature of the invention is one or more hollow spikes that rapidly and safely deflate vehicles tires by transferring air from the tire through the length of the hollow spike.
Another feature of the invention is one or more strips that allow the spikes to be easily attached to the band.
Another feature of the invention is one or more elongated apertures strategically aligned with the strips of spikes such that when the band is rolled up, the strips align with the apertures thereby allowing the spikes to protrude through the elongated apertures.
An advantage of the invention is that the tire deflating device is easily deployed and simply requires the user to release the stored energy for the device to be deployed across a lane of traffic.
Another advantage is that the tire deflation device is reusable in that the band is not damaged or destroyed with normal use. A user can simply replace the spikes after use with new spikes and then reattach them to a strip of the device for the next time it is needed.
Another advantage is that when a vehicle rolls over a tire deflation device of the present invention, the hollow spikes become embedded in the tire and the air of the tire then escapes through the hollow spikes, thereby rendering the tire worthless and the vehicle unable to be driven.
Another advantage of the invention is that the device provides an efficient and cost effective means for deflating vehicle tires and rendering a vehicle useless because the device relies on potential energy stored in the band instead of a complex mechanical structure to deploy the device.